In addition to Draama-Helm, the award goes to Mikko Sarvanne, Sanna Ahvenjärvi and Tapio Lappalainen
The Teosto prize, 40,000 euros, will be divided between three compositions this year.
The jury found this year’s competition very even.
Draama-Helmi, or Helmi Kajaste, describes her feelings as confused and happy.
– I’m especially happy that I get to share the award with the creators of the beat, and that after such a long process, someone is happy with the end result. It’s like a spring festival, says Kajaste.
With his award-winning album, Draama-Helmi, who became known as a rap and spoken word lyricist, enters a state of freedom and creative expression, which is vital for an artist. The jury describes the experience as downright magical. The jury finds itself as if by a campfire, with which Draama-Helmi tells its stories with exceptional humor.
– Yes, we talk intimately and think about things. Although there are a lot of personal feelings and thoughts here, I still have this Drama-Helm character, who picks up the most blatant emotions and exaggerates and spins them, says Kajaste.
Another of the awardees, *The White Storm of Awakening*, according to the jury, is a bright and luminous mix of jazz, contemporary music and vocal music. Mikko Sarvanne has succeeded in creating a complete work, in which ambient, electronics, acoustic instruments and natural elements intertwine into their own universe in an innovative way, says the jury.
The third prize winner, Sanna Ahvenjärvi and Tapio Lappalainen’s joint composition *Water*, is an intact and visual piece of contemporary music in which water moves in its various states. Although water is a classic subject for art music composers, Water’s tonal texture is original and imaginative, the jury states.
The Teosto award is one of the largest art awards in the Nordic countries. It has been distributed since 2003.